The 'Pals" battalions were a phenomenon of the Great War, never repeated since. Under Lord Derby's scheme, and in response to Kitchener's famous call for a million volunteers, local communities raised (and initially often paid for) entire battalions for service on the Western Front. returncharacterreturncharacter returncharacterreturncharacter REVIEWS returncharacterreturncharacter"Another one of the excellent "Pals" series of books...a worthwhile reprint of what has become one of the great series of books..." The Great War Magazine, UK, 10/2010